1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a chair adapted to support the user in an erect sitting posture. More particularly, the invention relates to a chair having back supporting portions for exerting pressure at particular points on the user's back, the back supporting portions cooperating with a specially-designed seat portion to ensure that a person sitting on the chair will maintain an erect sitting posture.
2. Description of Relevant Art
Conventional chair constructions typically permit and even encourage a user to sit in a slouched or non-erect position. Because an ongoing conscious effort is required to maintain an erect sitting posture, the user is likely to spend more time in a slouched or non-erect sitting posture than an erect one. For the vast number of people who spend the majority of their waking hours in a seated position, conventional chairs fail to offer the desirable advantage of maintaining an erect sitting posture without requiring a conscious effort to do so.
Stress to the back and other parts of the body is an inevitable consequence of sitting in a slouched or non-erect position for any length of time. Where a poor sitting posture is maintained on a routine basis, long-term back, neck and other problems are likely to result.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing difficulties encountered with conventional chair constructions by supporting a user's body in a way which naturally encourages an erect sitting posture. Unlike other chairs, the novel back support and seat portions of the chair according to the invention cooperate to maintain the user's body in an erect and healthy sitting posture without requiring any conscious effort on the user's part to monitor and/or properly orient his or her body.